esposa

See also: esposá

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin spōnsa.

Noun

esposa f (plural esposes)

1. wife (married woman)
2. handcuff

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin spōnsa. Compare Occitan esposa, French épouse, Spanish esposa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [əsˈpo̞.zə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [əsˈpɔ.zə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [esˈpɔ.za]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oza

Noun

esposa f (plural esposes)

1. wife; female equivalent of espòs

Synonyms

wife

• costella (figurative)
• dona
• la cònjuge
• muller

Antonyms

husband

• el cònjuge
• espòs
• home
• marit

Hypernyms

spouse

• el cònjuge

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese esposa, from Latin spōnsa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈposa/ [es̺ˈpo.s̺ɐ]
• Rhymes: -osa
• Hyphenation: es‧po‧sa

Noun

esposa f (plural esposas, masculine esposo, masculine plural esposos)

1. (dated) bride

   Synonym: noiva

2. wife

   Synonym: muller

3. (in the plural) handcuffs
   • 1457, F. R. Tato Plaza, editor, Libro de notas de Álvaro Pérez, notario da Terra de Rianxo e Postmarcos, Santiago: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 171:

     Torre de Rriãjo. O que rreçebeu Gonçaluo Mariño de Fernando de Catoyra cõ a casa e fortalesa de Rriãjo. Primeyramẽte: Húa cadea de ferro cõ seu cãdado e çinco farroupeas e dúas esposas. Hũas coyraças. Tres huchas. Tres ballestas: J de aseyro, IJ de pao. Quatro baçinetes. Hũu trono cõ seu serujdor e hũu fole de póluora. Dos carcaixes de biratõos. Hũu torno de armar ballesta.

     Tower of Rianxo. What Gonçalvo Mariño received from Fernando of Catoira, together with the tower-house and fortress at Rianxo. First: an iron chain with its padlock and five fetters and two handcuffs. Some cuirasses. Three chests. Three crossbows: one of steel, two of wood. Four bascinets. A bombard with its server and a skin of powder. Two quivers of bolts. A winch for charging crossbows.

Related terms

• esponsais
• esposar
• esposas
• esposo
• esposorio

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “esposa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “esposa”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “esposa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “esposa”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “esposa”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Further reading

• “esposa”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “esposa”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese esposa and Spanish esposa.

Noun

esposa

1. wife

Related terms

• esposo

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese esposa, from Latin spōnsa.

Alternative forms

• espôsa (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpo.zɐ/, /esˈpo.zɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpo.zɐ/, /esˈpo.zɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /iʃˈpo.zɐ/, /eʃˈpo.zɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /(i)ʃˈpo.zɐ/

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpozɐ/
• Hyphenation: es‧po‧sa

Noun

esposa f (plural esposas)

1. female equivalent of esposo: wife
   • 2006, Norma Simões Lopes Duarte, Mulheres de um homem só, Editora AGE Ltda., →ISBN, page 36:

     Os pensamentos que fervilhavam em seus cérebros era: afinal, homens é que podiam falar palavrão e baixarias, não suas distintas esposas criadas em colégio de freiras.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (obsolete) bride

Derived terms

• (diminutive) esposinha

Related terms

• esposar
• esposo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpɔ.zɐ/, /esˈpɔ.zɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /isˈpɔ.zɐ/, /esˈpɔ.zɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /iʃˈpɔ.zɐ/, /eʃˈpɔ.zɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /(i)ʃˈpɔ.zɐ/

• Hyphenation: es‧po‧sa

Verb

esposa

1. inflection of esposar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “esposa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “esposa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈposa/ [esˈpo.sa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -osa
• Syllabification: es‧po‧sa

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin spōnsa.

Noun

esposa f (plural esposas, masculine esposo, masculine plural esposos)

1. wife

   Synonyms: mujer, señora

   Coordinate terms: novia, pareja

Related terms

• esposar
• esposas
• esposo

Noun

esposa f (plural esposas)

1. (usually in the plural) handcuff

   Synonym: (Peru) marrocas

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

esposa

1. inflection of esposar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “esposo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Anagrams

• paseos
• posase
• poseas
• posesa
• sopesa

Tagalog

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin spōnsa

Spanish esposabor.

Tagalog esposa

Borrowed from Spanish esposa. Doublet of posas.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔesˈposa/ [ʔɛsˈpoː.sɐ]
• Rhymes: -osa
• Syllabification: es‧po‧sa

Noun

esposa (masculine esposo, Baybayin spelling ᜁᜐ᜔ᜉᜓᜐ)

1. (literary) wife

   Synonyms: maybahay, (colloquial) misis

   Hypernyms: asawa, kabiyak, kabiyak ng dibdib

   • 1700s, José de la Cruz, Ibong Adarna:

     At ang caniyang esposa yaong mariquit, na reina, ang pangala't bansag niya ay si doña Valeriana.

     And his wife, yonder beautiful queen, the name given to her is Doña Valeriana.

Related terms

• isponsor

References

• “esposa”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025